Advertisement

Boris Nemtsov, a Putin critic, gunned down in Moscow

One by one, thousands of mourners and dignitaries filed past the white-lined coffin of slain Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov on Tuesday, many offering flowers as they paid their last respects to one of the most prominent figures of Russia's beleaguered opposition.

So many came, that when the viewing ended after its scheduled four hours, a line of people hundreds of meters (yards) long still waited outside the Sakharov Center, named after the Soviet-era dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov.

Nemtsov was shot to death late Friday while walking on a bridge near the Kremlin with a companion. No suspects have been arrested.

The killing has deeply shaken Russia's small and marginalized opposition movement. Many opposition supporters suspect the killing was ordered by the Kremlin in retaliation for Nemtsov's ardent criticism of President Vladimir Putin. Authorities, meanwhile, have suggested several possible motives, including a provocation aimed at tarnishing Putin's image. (AP)

Find more news-related pictures in our photo galleries and follow us on Tumblr.